A/N: This just something fun I decided to write. This is very, very AU. The students are still at Hogwarts, there is still magic and all that, but nothing major has happened, no character deaths, no dark lord, no "evil" dark wizards. The biggest thing that hasn't changed is Gryffindors and Slytherin's typically hate each other because of house rivalry. There is a fine fine line between hate and passion. Possible one-shot. Might continue if I get enough interest.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Harry Potter belongs to Mrs. J.K. Rowling.
Summery: Who knew a sentient building could play match maker!
Rating: T
Author: Rikku-Gleeks-Out (Formally known as Al-behd-Rikku)
Warnings: Slash/Yaoi in the form of Draco and Harry.
The students knew he was sentient. They didn't know how or why he was alive, like any other breathing, living creature. He was after all a building, the caste, Hogwarts. Yes, the students knew he was sentient, but they had no idea how devious he could be if something wasn't going his way. The students learned very easily from the beginning that he hated tension, and he hated fighting. Oh did Hogwarts have a way of punishing unknowing students. If they hadn't known he was sentient before, they would find out shockingly when they angered him. Yes, the building seemed to be very old fashioned and proper, even a mere curse could anger him. The students of course forgot this little detail all the time.
"Herm, how is that Hogwarts is alive?" Harry asked his best friend one morning, after he had suffered a head wound when the light fixture above him had exploded, yet moments later the fixture wasn't broken at all. All Harry had done was curse the stupid blond Malfoy for being such an annoying prat. He usually did that a lot. Malfoy always found ways to get under Harry's skin. Goodness did Hogwarts hate it when they fought, seemingly more so when other students fought. Hogwarts enjoyed peace and harmony. It was very odd to say the least. Even the teachers couldn't avoid his punishing ways. One thing was clear, the building never did anything to seriously hurt anyone, but what he did do was enough to annoy the crap out of everyone. Not to mention some of the punishments could be embarrassing. The building had a sense of humor, apparently.
The bushy haired girl laughed. "What did you do this time, Harry?" She asked.
"I said that Malfoy was a great big..." The lights started to dimmer, Harry swore he heard a warning growl, which of course was just the building settling, then again, the building was sentient. "I mean I said something quite mean about Malfoy," Harry corrected himself with a groan.
"When will you boys ever learn?" Hermione huffed. It was obvious she didn't just mean Harry and Malfoy, she was referring to all boys. "I mean honestly, you don't see the girls being punished every two seconds, do you?"
"Punished?" Harry said in a high pitched voice. "He's a raving lunatic! How in the world can a building be alive?" He realized he shouldn't have insulted him when all lights in Hogwarts blacked out and he felt his feet sinking into the floor, effectively trapping him. "Oh come on!" Harry yelled, "why are you so sensitive?"
Harry knew he was crazy for talking to the building, but he had enough proof to know Hogwarts was smarter then one hundred wizards put together, and very much real, building or not. Harry had a theory that someone had died ages ago and their spirit was somehow possessing the building. This was after all a magical school. That could be possible, right?
"You brought it on yourself," Hermione tutted. "May I please have some light so that I can get back to the common room? I need to go to class." The building seemed to purr, before a small trail of lights flickered on for the girl. Hermione shot Harry a pitying look, and then followed the lights. This left Harry in the dark again.
"Let me free," Harry complained. "Damn it. This isn't funny!" The floor tightened around his ankles. "I'm sorry, okay? Can I go? I'm going to be late for class, that wouldn't be proper, would it? It might make Snape very angry. You don't like angry people, do you?"
The building settled again, sounding as if it had whined, before Harry's legs were free again. The brunette sighed, straightened his robes, and then put his hands on his hips.
"Lights please?"
The lights came back on, though slowly as if the building were teasing Harry.
With a frown, Harry grabbed his wand, and then left for the Dungeons.
"Of all the nerve," Snape growled at the terrified Neville. Poor Neville was quivering under the Slytherin head of house as Snape waved his wand around and shouted for the whole world to hear that Neville Longbottom was the sorriest excuse for a wizard that he had ever seen.
Ron shook his head, giving Snape a look that clearly said he was thinking the man was crazy for doing something like that. A moment later, Ron had the satisfaction of gloating as Snape was suddenly slammed away from the nearly crying Neville and trapped against the wall. Somehow the floor had rippled up to toss the man.
"Oh for crying out loud, let me down," Snape snapped. The students were staring at him wide eyed as they watched the wall partly pull Snape in so that he couldn't move.
"Excuse me professor," Harry said, trying not to show how bad he wanted to laugh, "but I think you have to apologize to Neville and you probably have to give him a compliment, one you mean." Harry knew how the building thought as scary as that was. Everyone did, but they still messed up.
"I am not apologizing to that.." Snape's words chocked off as the wall pulled him in deeper, choking him. Only the front of Snape's face could be seen. "Fine!" Snape snapped. "I'm bloody sorry, damn it!" When he wasn't released, Snape growled in anger. "Very well, you win, I apologize for cursing. Now let me go."
When he wasn't set freed, Snape sighed loudly. "Longbottom isn't a complete waste of space... OUCH, I mean, he has his uses... Ugh... I mean, the kid is kind of nice. There happy!"
When the wall let go, Snape fell to his hands and knees. He picked himself up and glared at the students, a touch of pink on his cheeks. "That didn't happen, repeat after me, that didn't happen."
Used to this, the students repeated the words. Snape after all got punished a lot. He never could seem to learn his lesson.
Laughing with his friends, Harry left the Potions classroom. They told each other bye, before parting ways. Harry had a free period, while the rest had a class that Harry didn't take. With a sigh, Harry aimlessly strolled around the dungeons, knowing he should just go back up to his common room or maybe even the library and get some of his homework done, but he couldn't be bothered.
Harry couldn't help thinking about Malfoy again! What was it about that blond that really got under his skin. Oh, yes, Harry knew, but he didn't want to think about it. After all he hated Malfoy and vice versa, but he couldn't deny the annoying little fact. Harry had the hots for the blond. In his defense of course, Harry had always had a soft spot for blonds, and apparently Malfoy wasn't immune to that. Harry was into him, but that didn't mean Harry liked him, or liked the fact that he was into him. Harry didn't want to think about it, yet he always did. Always. It really bothered Harry.
The brunette really could care less if he was gay. Sure, maybe that wasn't something people would like, but that was who he was. He just couldn't stand that he had to have feelings for the one person who would never be able to return them. Not that Harry wanted that, of course! No, he didn't want Malfoy to return them. He didn't want to like Malfoy. No wait, he didn't like Malfoy, he just had the hots for him.
Of course there was a difference.
"This is utterly stupid," Harry groaned. "I have a thing for blonds, so why couldn't I have fallen... I have not fallen!" Harry spat at himself, angry for how easily the word had spilled out of his mouth.
"Talking to yourself again?" Sneered the devil himself.
Harry whipped around to face Malfoy, his cheeks bright red. "Go to Hell Malfoy."
Bad idea. As soon as he said that, the lights went out, though Harry was satisfied that Malfoy squeaked like a little girl. Harry backed away when he heard Malfoy striding toward him. He backed away until he was against the wall.
The next thing Harry knew, Malfoy tried to punch him, though since it was dark, the blond missed, his hand going on one side of Harry's face. Malfoy yelled in anger. Harry was shocked that the blond was standing so close to him. Their bodies were even touching.
"Get away Malfoy!" Harry yelled.
"I would if I could," Malfoy spat. "My arm is stuck."
"W-what?" Harry stuttered. "What do you mean?"
"Obviously I mean what I said, the wall is pulling me in," Malfoy answered. This time he just sounded tired. The blond struggled against Harry, trying to pull free, though this didn't help matters at all.
The next thing Harry knew, Malfoy was pressed flush against him and the blond was cursing over and over again.
"Crap!" Malfoy yelled.
"Now what?" Harry nearly choked.
"My other arm is stuck," Malfoy murmured, this time sounding embarrassed.
Harry rolled his eyes, "how did you manage to get your other arm stuck?"
"I obviously put my hand on the wall to try and get some leverage to pull out, and..." Malfoy trailed off, "well you see what happened?"
"Oh just shut up, I'm leaving," Harry said, and with that, he tried to wiggle down and out of Malfoy's strange embrace the wall was forcing him in. Harry grunted, trying to bend down again to get free, but he couldn't.
"Well!" Malfoy snapped. "I thought you were leaving?"
"I'm stuck too, damn you!"
"It's not my fault."
"You were the one who decided to come up to me and start trouble."
"You were the one who told me to go to Hell."
"You were the one who tried to hit me!"
Malfoy sighed. "Okay, so we're both at fault, how the Hell do we get free?"
"How the Hell should I know?"
"Well do something, damn it," Malfoy demanded. He was used to getting his way and he did not like being at the castle's mercy. How wrong was that?
The brunette groaned, "I don't think all this cursing will help matters," he said, as it seemed each time they cursed or yelled, the wall pulled Malfoy in tighter, closer to Harry. So close in fact that their faces were nose to nose and they could feel each other's breath.
"Very well," Malfoy grumbled. "No more cursing. So how... do we get free?"
Even if they had calmed down, they were still being held against their will. It seemed that the castle wanted something and he wouldn't let go until that something happened.
"I wish I knew," Harry said. He struggled again, but it was useless. Of course knowing that didn't stop him from trying. "This is uncomfortable."
"You're telling me," The blond agreed.
Harry had a feeling that Malfoy had no idea why this was so uncomfortable for him and he was terrified that the blond would figure it out. They were after all chest to chest, and hip to hip. Somehow Malfoy had even got one of his legs suck in the wall, so now they were pressed together with no hope of shifting so that certain places weren't touching.
"This is a nightmare," Harry nearly whined. His arms were the only thing that had free movement and he was making every effort not to touch the wall, or touch Malfoy's body, despite just wanting to let go and cling to the blond.
"Hah! You don't have your arms and your legs stuck in a wall, not to mention a very annoying itch you can't do anything about," Malfoy pouted.
"Well my back is stuck in the wall, and therefore getting out of your embrace is impossible."
"I'm not embracing you!"
"Whatever," Harry snorted.
"I hate you, Potter."
Harry rolled his eyes, though he gasped when Malfoy was pulled so hard into the wall that the blond slammed against his chest.
"Do you really hate me Malfoy?" Harry moaned. "You had better be honest."
"Fine! I don't hate you per say," The blond pouted. "But I think..."
"I wouldn't finish that if I were you," Harry warned.
Luckily Malfoy listened.
The wall loosened the hold on Malfoy slightly, but not enough so that they weren't still pressed so tightly together.
"Feel that!" Malfoy exclaimed. "I was nice and the wall let up a little."
"You call that nice? The only way you could feel better about admitting you didn't hate me was trying to insult me after." Harry's words were bitter.
"I..." Malfoy actually seemed at a loss for words. "It's not exactly easy, Potter."
"What isn't?" Harry asked.
"Admitting the truth, showing myself with out the Slytherin mask my Father insisted I wear."
"Truth? Mask?" Harry was just confused. Though he realized the wall was letting up a little more.
"Tut... that I don't think the way he does, or the way my house does. High and mighty Slytherins!" Malfoy yelled. "I'm sooo not telling you this."
"You kind of are," Harry pointed out quietly. This was a side of Malfoy he had never seen before.
"We're supposed to, I'm supposed to think I'm better then everyone else, and I do," Malfoy smirked, "but not in the cruel way my father did. I was supposed to hate you before I had ever met you. Father told me the Potters were the worse sort of lower class wizards and..."
Harry stiffened up. His family was not lower class!
"If I was a Malfoy I better know my place and behave like one, how do you expect me to act after being brainwashed this way ever since I could walk?"
"Let me get this straight, you don't hate me, yet you acted the way you did to please your Father? Ever since year one, Malfoy? Did your Father scare you so much that you couldn't be yourself?"
Harry was surprised when Malfoy answered, "yes," in a such a voice he had never heard before. The fact that Malfoy was admitting all of this stuff was a shock in and of itself.
The wall was still holding them, but now not as tightly. They could shift around if they wanted, but their bodies still brushed together.
"What does this mean now that you're admitting all of this stuff?"
"My father is dead, Po... Harry, even you must have read about it in the Prophet."
Harry shivered when Malfoy used his real name. He frowned though at the blond's words. Yeah, his father was dead and at his own hands, no less. Malfoy senior had been practicing some dark magic on the side and it had blown up in his face, quite literally.
"I did," Harry said softly.
"I've been trying to make things right, but every time I tired, I couldn't stop repeating the same pattern over and over again. Some fear in the back of my mind that Father would come back and punish me for not meeting his High Standards."
"I'm not quite following," Harry admitted.
Malfoy blushed, though it was lucky the lights were out. As if the building knew Malfoy was blushing, the lights suddenly came back on. This only made the boys both blush when they saw how they were standing against each other.
"Ugh..." Malfoy groaned, "I've been trying to tell you that I've wanted to be your friend ever since year one! You turned me away and that never left me." The blond glared at Harry, his cheeks growing even more red then a Weasley family member's hair.
"Y-you blame me?" Harry stuttered, startled with Malfoy's confession. "After what you said about the friends I already had were more or less worthless? I thought you weren't supposed to have anything to do with me anyway?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, "of course I wasn't, but Father told me that I had to keep up my appearance and he was quite pleased that you turned me away, though. He said I had to offer to help make you a better wizard for show and then he would be perfectly fine if I..."
"Was a complete ass to me and my friends there on after?"
"Yeah."
"But instead you wished to be my friend?" Harry was quite confused.
"You were the only person to ever put me in my place, always, you always fight back, always stand up to me. I... wasn't used to that, and I saw that the only way you would have anything to do with me is if we were enemies."
"You sound like a boy with an obsessed crush," Harry couldn't help saying.
"S-shut up," Malfoy stuttered.
Harry raised an eyebrow. How unexpected. He licked his lips and then leaned close to Malfoy... no, Draco's ear and whispered, "So that's it, you do have a crush on me, Draco," Harry teased. His lips barely touched the blond's ear. "Everything makes sense then."
"I do not have a crush on you," Draco said weakly.
"You are not a good liar," Harry pointed out. Draco was good at pretending to be a prat, but goodness was he horrible at hiding the fear in his eyes from being found out. Oh yes, Harry was sure of it now. Draco Malfoy had the hots for Harry Potter.
Oh, Harry thought. This works out then. Harry smirked. The fact was Harry Potter also had the hots for Draco Malfoy. He had hated it before, but it wasn't so bad knowing the blond might actually be willing, and he might actually be a good person underneath it all.
"This doesn't change anything, Po... H-Harry," Draco stuttered.
"It changes everything," Harry whispered.
With that, Harry leaned forward and kissed the boy he had always thought he'd hate for the rest of his life. So he had been wrong.
With a pleased purring sound echoing throughout the building, both boys fell away from the wall, free. They landed in a tangle of limbs, their lips still pressed together.
Harry smirked against Draco's lips.
Who knew Hogwarts would be such a romantic.
End- Please leave a review. I'm planning on ways to make this into a longer story if I get more interest. (Updated 12/20/2011)
